


not a secret

by lapinprince



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Coming Out, Established Relationship, M/M, Meet the Family, Zine: Take Your Time - A P5 Writers Zine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-17
Updated: 2019-12-17
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:13:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21831982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lapinprince/pseuds/lapinprince
Summary: Taking a chance, Ryuji invites Yusuke over for dinner to meet his mom, in hopes of finally telling her about them dating.A piece fromTake Your Time - A P5 Writers Zine.
Relationships: Kitagawa Yusuke/Sakamoto Ryuji
Comments: 2
Kudos: 108





	not a secret

**Author's Note:**

> in the time since i updated last i organized a zine! i wrote two pieces for it, this is one of them! i adore ryukita so much so i was very happy that i got to write for them. thanks to trein for illustrating it, i hope that anyone who bought the zine enjoyed it too! written in feb 2019.
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/laprincenico)
> 
> -♔

“Geez, he’s late—” Ryuji grumbled, checking his phone for the time or any texts from his missing companion. It was only fifteen minutes past when him and Yusuke agreed to meet at the Shibuya train station, but no doubt Yusuke got distracted on his way. One of these days, Ryuji was just going to storm over to Kosei and wait outside Yusuke’s art studio instead of relying on his ability to walk a straight line. 

In the middle of his internal grumbling, his phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen to see a single text from Yusuke that ominously said, “I see you.” Ryuji sputtered and looked around wildly before Yusuke had the chance to unintentionally startle him to death coming up behind him. 

A hand gently clapped his shoulder.

“UWAH!” Ryuji shouted, face flushed red when he caught the looks of passers-by. He spun around, neck craned up slightly to meet eyes with Yusuke, who had a rather impassive look on his face.

“Hello, Ryuji. My apologies for being late, I was distracted by an arrangement of flowers at a local florist,” Yusuke began, and Ryuji sighed. “I bought some, as they reminded me of you,” Yusuke brought a few daffodils out from behind his back, bright yellow and fragrant, tied with a red bow around the stems. Ryuji’s cheeks and ears went beet red as he took them, almost in disbelief at how romantic the gesture was, nevermind the fact that Yusuke rarely had enough money to spend in the first place. This boy was going to kill him some day.

“T-thanks, Yusuke, I—you didn’t have to buy so many, man—” 

“The florist warned me that one daffodil represented a foretelling of misfortune, but more represented joy and happiness. I wouldn’t want to accidentally curse you through a token of affection,” Yusuke smiled, leaning over to kiss him. Though it was just a light peck, Ryuji stiffened and ducked down to press the side of his face against Yusuke’s chest, heat radiating from his cheeks. 

“We’re in public, you dummy,” Ryuji mumbled, stepping away. “C’mon, we should head over to my place.” Without lingering much on the subject, Ryuji led Yusuke through the station and onto an appropriate train towards his house. He always felt terrible when he had to reject Yusuke like that, but he knew that Yusuke understood—they had just started dating and were very much on the down-low about it. Ryuji also wasn’t used to getting that sort of attention in public or in private—for someone who boasted about loving cute girls so much, the fact that he got so flustered at just a simple kiss made him feel pretty unmanly. But he hadn’t even told his mom, for Pete’s sake! How could he let the world know without telling his mom first?

“Does your mother know about us yet?” Yusuke asked in a low voice once they boarded the train, as if he could read Ryuji’s mind. Ryuji shook his head.

“Dude, she doesn’t even know that I—uh—that I don’t jus’ like girls, yanno?” Ryuji looked down towards the daffodils, pursing his lips.

“You can say that you are attracted to men, you know,” Yusuke frowned, tilting his head. “I know you are not ashamed to be seeing me, but—” 

“I know!” The both of them went silent, aside from Yusuke’s gentle sigh. “I just… I like you a lot, okay? And ‘m like… scared.” Ryuji’s hand sneakily slid over Yusuke’s as he spoke. “Shit, I wish I could tell everyone I see that I’m dating you, but…” 

“It’s alright,” Yusuke soothed, squeezing Ryuji’s hand. “You were planning on telling your mother today, right?” Ryuji swallowed a lump in his throat at the mention. He didn’t forget, he had just been… willfully deprioritizing it in his head.

“Yeah. It’ll be okay. C’mon, we gotta get groceries before we get home.” Ryuji gave Yusuke a reassuring grin, lacing their fingers together.

-x-

“I’m home!” Ryuji called to no one in particular as he opened the door to his apartment. Yusuke followed in right after, the two of them toeing their shoes off before making their way into the house. Yusuke took a moment to look around, marveling at how cozy the two-bedroom apartment was. It was well taken care of, it seemed, which was surprising considering Ryuji’s mother being a single mom. He wondered if that meant that Ryuji took care of the chores instead.

“Yusuke, c’mon!” Ryuji waited at the door to the kitchen, tilting his head at the taller boy standing in the hallway. 

“Ah, yes. I’ll be right there.” Yusuke followed after, helping Ryuji unload the bags of groceries on the kitchen table. Yusuke sorted the various vegetables they bought in order of color and length while Ryuji peered carefully at a note by the stove. Yusuke smiled when he saw the daffodils included in a bouquet of flowers resting in a vase on the table.

“What’s that?” Yusuke asked, pointing towards the piece of paper with a green onion. 

“Ah, it’s the directions for dinner.” Ryuji picked the paper up, mumbling the instructions as he read them. He pulled out two cutting boards and two knives, placing one set in front of Yusuke. “We’re making nikujaga! So lots of vegetable chopping, heh.” He quickly picked up the potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and carrots and brought them to the sink to wash them. Once clean, the two began to prepare the meal for the night, Ryuji giving Yusuke the easier vegetables to cut. He followed Ryuji’s directions with wonder, feeling almost warm at the thought that Ryuji cooked dinner for himself and his mom. Was that why he often went straight home after school?

“I’m gonna cook the beef, you finish up the veggies,” Ryuji said, picking up the cubed raw beef and taking it to the heated pan on the stove. Just as the meat hit the sizzling pan, the front door opened. Ryuji’s face lit up at the sound of it.

“Mom!” he called towards the door.

“Hello, I’m home…! Ah, that smells good—thank you for making dinner again, dear!” Ryuji’s mom appeared at the doorway, looking a little tired and weary but content. Yusuke glanced up from his chopping.

“Yeah, ‘course! It’ll be ready soon!” Ryuji grinned and turned back to the meat, making sure it was browned evenly on all sides. “Oh, are you done with the veggies?” 

“Ah, yes—here.” Yusuke picked up the cutting boards and helped Ryuji dump them one by one into the pan.

“You must be Yusuke-kun then…! I’ve heard so much about you,” Ryuji’s mom smiled. Yusuke wasn’t quite sure what that meant, but he stood straight to face her and bowed politely regardless.

“Thank you, Sakamoto-san. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said, smiling slightly.

“Oh, you can call me Michiko, dear. No need for the formalities.”

“Of course, Michiko-san.”

Michiko glanced towards Ryuji at the stove, a playful smile on her face. “He’s a polite one, isn’t he. I’m going to get changed, I’ll be back!” She padded out of the kitchen, leaving an awkward silence in her wake. 

“Does she know—” 

“I dunno.” 

Ryuji poured different sauces and beef stock into the pot and covered it to let it simmer and reduce, mostly in an uncomfortable silence.

“Do you usually cook dinner?” Yusuke finally asked, still holding the green onion.

“Yeah. Or I’ll start to prepare it and Mom will come home and finish. I’ve had more time after school since I stopped having track.” Ryuji took the green onion from him and put it down on the cutting board. He picked up a knife and started to slice it idly. 

“It does me such big help when he does,” Michiko said as she re-entered the kitchen, tying her hair up into a ponytail. “This house would be a mess without my son!” Ryuji flushed at her words. Once the stew was done cooking, he carefully spooned them into three bowls and garnished each of them with a few ribbons of green onion.

“Dinner’s ready,” he said, bringing the bowls to the table and sitting down. Yusuke brought the last bowl over, taking a seat next to Ryuji, admittedly a little anxious at how this dinner would go. The three picked up their spoons and clasped their hands, offering thanks for their meal in unison and digging in.

They ate mostly in silence, other than the odd bit of small talk asking Yusuke where he went to school and what he wanted to do when he graduated. It crossed awkward territory when it came to talking about his family, but Michiko thankfully caught on quickly and changed the subject. He didn’t mind, though; he felt warm from watching Michiko and Ryuji interact, warm from the stew and warm from his boyfriend sitting next to him and eating the food that he cooked. Ryuji was in the middle of a story from the other day, the both of them relaxing a bit from the chatting and the good food. In the meantime, Yusuke was busy poking at the untouched cubes of meat in Ryuji’s bowl.

“And Akira just like, picked up the cup even though Boss told ‘im he messed it up and just downed it—!”

“Oh dear—!”

Ryuji was engrossed enough in his story that he seemed not to notice, Yusuke decided. He scooped up one of the beef cubes and popped it in his mouth.

“Like, he had no hesitation and—oi, Yusuke! Just ‘cause you’re my boyfriend doesn’t mean you can get away with that!” Ryuji shouted, waving his spoon at the offender. He froze soon after as he realized what he said, Yusuke going stiff mid-chew. “U-uh… I mean…” The two of them glanced nervously towards Michiko, who continued to eat. 

“Hm? Continue your story, dear,” Michiko said, scooping up a wedge of tomato.

“W-wait— uh…?” Ryuji stared, astonished. Did she not hear?

“If your boyfriend is still hungry, let him get a second bowl,” she added with a knowing look. Yusuke slowly rose to his feet and went to the pot to scoop more into his bowl, with total silence.

“Y-you knew?!” Ryuji sputtered, his face absolutely red. “You knew that we were dating—?!” 

“Of course, dear. You don’t smile quite so much when texting anyone else, you know,” Michiko said with a smile. “Plus, you were so nervous to invite Yusuke-kun for dinner—you didn’t have nearly as many nerves when you invited Akira-kun over.”

“Oh.” Ryuji felt a little silly at how worried he was. Of course his mother would have figured it out, he wasn’t exactly a master at keeping a secret after all. “S-so, you’re… okay with it?”

“Of course I am,” Michiko said, putting her hand on her son’s shoulder. “Why wouldn’t I? You’re dating a wonderful young man here. Gender doesn’t matter as long as he’s treating you right.” 

“Thank you, Michiko-san. I’ll be sure to do my best for Ryuji,” Yusuke said, smiling. He put his hand over Ryuji’s, squeezing it. 

“Thanks Mom… thanks Yusuke… I-I feel dumb for thinkin’ you wouldn’t be accepting of it, but I’m just relieved…” Ryuji sniffled, wiping at his eyes with his other hand.

“I’m happy for you both, dear. Now, what happened with Akira-kun after that?”

Ryuji grinned and laughed to himself as he remembered Boss’ reaction. “Well, Boss just stared at him…” he continued. Yusuke polished off his second bowl, feeling quite full and happy, like a weight had been pulled off their shoulders. He watched Ryuji smile and thought it resembled the sort of sunshine that brightened the colors of wildflowers. He glanced at the daffodils in the vase, recalling the florist saying that they also represented new beginnings. Squeezing Ryuji’s hand again, he hoped that would be a fitting symbol for their relationship.


End file.
